1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing system for realizing an application using programmable logic capable of reconfiguring a semiconductor integrated circuit after the semiconductor integrated circuit is manufactured, more particularly to a method of configuring the information processing system including the programmable logic, and further, to a semiconductor integrated circuit to which the method of configuring the information processing system is applied.
2. Description of the Related Art
In processing different kinds of digital signals, different kinds of semiconductor integrated circuits, examples of which are a microcomputer, DSP (Digital Signal Processor), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a memory element (memory) and the like, are used. In recent years, a programmable logic (such as microcomputer and DSP) capable of changing a process by means of a program after the semiconductor integrated circuit is manufactured, a programmable logic capable of unrestrainedly changing a configuration of the circuit after the circuit is manufactured and, in particular, a re-configurable logic capable of executing a shift of the circuit configuration at a high speed have been attracting attention.
In the re-configurable logic, in the case in which a technical standard or a specification is changed or a problem is generated in the semiconductor integrated circuit, the circuit configuration can be unrestrainedly changed, which does not require an additional manufacturing of the circuit. The application of the re-configurable logic can contribute to the reductions of a time length required for development and a manufacturing cost of the semiconductor integrated circuit.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, providing that a part shared by all of a plurality of circuits and a part comprised of non-exclusive independent circuits in which no common part on the circuits is included and areas constituting the circuits do not overlap are collectively referred to as a preceding base circuit, a first step of previously configuring the preceding base circuit on a programmable logic circuit and a second step of partially reconfiguring the plurality of circuits based on circuit information representing a differential between the plurality of circuits and the preceding base circuit and thereby generating a necessary a functional circuit on the programmable logic circuit are repeated.
However, the programmable logic generally consumes a larger area and a larger volume of power in comparison to any exclusive-use hardware. In the case in which the sharable part on the circuits is small and there are many non-exclusive independent circuits, an area where the circuits can be freely shifted and used is quite limited. Therefore, an area-utilizing efficiency of the integrated circuit is poor and the circuit size is thereby increased, which unfavorably increases the manufacturing cost of the programmable logic circuit.